Server Maintenance Tips

Over the course of the past year, we have covered many dedicated server maintenance issues, particularly for servers running Linux. In no particular order, here is a list of some of the more important tips you should remember when taking care of your server.

1. When possible, rely on the distribution updates and repositories. Only add third-party software when absolutely necessary.

2. Periodically run fsck to check the file system.

3. Monitor system and service logs.

4. Disable unused services.

5. Periodically optimize MySQL databases.

6. Monitor CPU and RAM usage.

7. Optimize RAM and swap usage.

8. On larger servers, run the database server on a separate machine, optimize the servers for scalability, and consider using a CDN (Content Delivery Network).